Camryn Rose’s Stellar Career Marked by 1,000 Kills and Winning

After four magical seasons and 1,000-plus kills, Camryn Rose is ready to put her high school volleyball career behind her and attack her academic career with equal vigor. While she’s sure to miss volleyball, she knows memories of her career - especially her senior season - will buoy her.

"I started playing when I was nine years old,” Rose reflects. "I started in Florence, Oregon. I started playing because my sister was playing and it seemed like fun. And my dad was the director of a club team. I just fell in love with it."  

Rose was already in love with volleyball when she made the long move from the Pacific Northwest to Marco Island prior to her freshman year of high school. Though the move was traumatic, it didn’t take her long to realize she would quickly have a second love - her new school.

"I was extremely nervous to move here,” Rose said. "I didn’t know anyone. I really came in and thought, ‘You know what, it’s a fresh start. Let’s see what Marco Island has to offer.’"

Marco Island principal Melissa Scott made an immediate positive impact on Rose.

"When I toured Marco Island Academy and met Miss Scott, I knew this is where I should go,” Rose said. "Miss Scott is just my point of reference. She cheers me up. She’s more than just a principal, she genuinely gets you on a personal level and makes it more than just a student-administrator relationship. She cares about every student here. I could sense that when I was touring. I knew that this was the perfect fit for me. I’m so glad I chose this school.”

Rose could have chosen to go to a school with a more established volleyball program. The Rays were 0-15 the season before she arrived. They finished 64-30 over her career, including 20-5 records during her sophomore and senior seasons. 

"I would not change my MIA experience for the world,” Rose said. "I loved it. A big part of my life has been volleyball. So, I think that my volleyball experience alone has been crazy. We’ve made history. That alone has been a big part. But the people here - I love everyone. It was just so easy to make friends here, because of the way the school is run. The community here is amazing. It made it an amazing experience.”

She remembers joining the Rays volleyball team as a freshman.

"When I first started, I thought, ’This is a really good team,’ Rose said. "I could see a lot of potential. I thought I could fit in well with everyone. I was nervous. I was a little freshman joining the varsity volleyball team. They were all very welcoming. From the very first practice in the summer, I felt very loved and welcomed. They wanted me there. I could tell we were going to have a great season. Just the girls and the energy.”

Rose’s senior season has been filled with highlights.

“Between hitting my 1,000 kills, winning the conference championship for the fourth year in a row - which is crazy - we've beaten Lely three times now, we went to districts. This year was very historical, especially with the new school building. We won the first game in our new building, which was a great way to start.”

"I loved hitting my 1,000 kills,” she says. “I think it’s something that everyone works toward so hard. It’s a lot of work. Physically it’s a lot of work. I am so happy to be able to say I hit my 1,000 kills, but it wasn’t just about me. Every single player on my team helped me get there. The setter on our team, Virginia Lowe, I could not have gotten that without her. Or Sophia Shea with all of the passes. They’ve made it so I can hit that. They made the night so special. Everyone was incorporated. And my coach went above and beyond. They truly made me feel so special. I love them all so much. So that night I hit my 1,000 kills, but I felt we as a team made that moment together."

Alyssa Stolinas was a player in the early years of MIA and started coaching the Rays the same year Rose joined the program.

“Coaching Camryn has been one of the greatest pleasures of my coaching career,” Stolinas said. “Not only is she an amazing athlete, she is also one of the sweetest and most resolute girls I have coached. She really helped put us on the map. We are so grateful to have had her as a part of our program.”

One of the highlights for Rose was attending school in MIA's brand-new building and playing in the school’s first gymnasium. Prior to the new MIA building being completed, volleyball games were played in the Marco Island Charter Middle School gym.

“I felt so honored that we could be the first team to play in this gym,” Rose said, "and have everybody come watch us. We had so many people come out to that first game. I was a little surprised at the crowd, but I was expecting a decent amount of people to come because they all wanted to see the new gym. But it made me so happy to see all of the hard work that’s been done by so many people, including Miss (Jane) Watt and Mark Melvin and everyone, pay off. To see everyone there, to see this wonderful school and this beautiful gymnasium that they’ve done a flawless job with. It’s really amazing. I felt so special that I got to play on that new court.”

Rose feels the new facilities have helped complete the high school experience for MIA students.

"We always supported everyone when we were in the portables,” she said, "but I feel like with this new building we really have that whole school feeling now. It was just a great feeling to win that first game in the new school. The building has been amazing, and we all love the new equipment that we have. It’s really helped tremendously this year, having our own school. Because we get to do the study hall upstairs before practice, so we all get to be together as a team. We start the day at 8:25 AM together and we don’t leave until 7:00 PM. So, we’re really together all day."

Three career wins over Class 5A Lely also stand out for Rose. The 2A Rays defeated Lely in a home-and-home series this season. The win in the MIA gym was especially memorable for Rose.

"Our student section at the Lely game,” Rose said, "everyone was there. And there was a lot of spirit. It was our senior night, which made it 10 times better. I think it’s a really good rivalry. There’s some good competition there. They’re a great school. I think the level of play was so good. And everyone came out to watch. You could feel it in the air. Everyone was so excited, giving it their all. Everyone played so amazing. And for it to be our senior night just made it that much more special. I think it’s just a really good rivalry and I hope they continue to play. Even when I’m gone, I’d love to come back and watch it.”

For those who have seen Rose in action the past four years, her decision to pass on college volleyball may seem surprising.

“I do not want to play in college,” Rose said. "It was a big decision, because volleyball has been a part of my life since I was nine years old. I played all throughout the year, every year. I’m just excited for my next phase. To transition into college and get started on my academic career. High school volleyball was beyond exciting, and I loved every moment. But now I’m just getting ready for college and my career. There’s always intramural volleyball. I’m just really excited to get started and leave volleyball in my high school phase. I feel that I’m just ready to transition into something new and find something else I love.”

Rose’s older sister played college volleyball at Concordia, in Portland, Oregon. She warned her little sister of the dedication required to play college volleyball.

“My sister loved her experience so much,” Rose said. "She just said, ‘You need to make sure you’re 110% resolute.' I’ve always been very dedicated to my high school team and my club team. But going into college I really want to focus just on my academic career. I’m very goal driven and I want to get to a certain spot and I don’t want to let my team down because I’m so focused on what’s ahead for me. I just didn’t think it was going to work. I was planning on playing, but I took some time - I’ve had a lot of things happen in the past year - and I’m ready to just move on and get started.”

Even through the challenges of high school volleyball and club volleyball, Rose never suffered from burnout, like some athletes do.

“I’ve played in three different clubs in Florida,” Rose said, "starting with USA South, then I went to Vibe for a year, then I ended up at Gulfside. I loved Gulfside so much. It was such an amazing experience. In club volleyball, you just have to be so resolute and driven. If that’s your passion, you play it. And I knew I always wanted to play club. Every girl on that team is beyond committed. All they want to do is win. You travel to different states. Every weekend is a different tournament. You have to be fully resolute. Orlando, Tampa, Georgia, Washington, D.C. It was a big commitment juggling school and club, but if you’re fully invested, that’s what you do. I don’t think I ever got burnt out. I’m sure some girls do and plenty of people have. But I truly loved it. I was always just excited. Especially my senior year. I was excited to get going, make history, see what we could do. I never got burnt out because I loved it so much.”

Rose said her father has been a steady supporter throughout the years. She holds him in high esteem.

“I would definitely say my dad has been my biggest supporter,” Rose said. "He travels, so he works in California, but he commutes to Florida. Whenever he’s here he makes it to every game possible. He arranges his work schedule to try to make it to as many games as possible. He is my biggest cheerleader. He was my coach when I was nine years old. And now he’s still in the stands cheering for me. I can’t even put into words how much he means to me. He would travel to all of the out of state tournaments. I think last year he only missed one club tournament. And that’s a lot because they’re everywhere. And he only missed one. He’s my biggest supporter. I hope one day I can be half as good a person as he is. Because it just shocks me how - and you can ask anyone - he just lights up the room. I want to be like him. I really do.”

Rose is also thankful for the support she receives from the administrative team at MIA. But Ryan Roberts, the school’s director of athletics and student activities, has been particularly impactful.

"All of the administration has always been there for the team and been so supportive,” Rose said. "But Miss Roberts, our athletic director, is always there for us. All of the away games - I know she doesn’t have to be there, but she is. We always come into her office in the mornings just to talk to her. She’s just always been there for us, for every step. We can come to her to rant, or to just talk.”

Roberts appreciates what Rose has done for her school. Ironically, Roberts and Rose started at MIA the same year.

“I’ve enjoyed just seeing Cam grow over the last four years,” Roberts mused. "We always joke that we were freshmen together four years ago. She was a freshman when I started here. The bond with her, Skye LaButte and Sophia Shea. It’s been really great to see three young women who support each other and empower each other.

"Cam is a great student-athlete,” said Roberts. “Her grades are fantastic. She’s taking some dual enrollment classes at Florida Southwestern this semester and next semester. So hopefully she’ll be ahead of the game when she starts school. It’s a great program.”

"Her contributions to the game and the program on the island are definitely unparalleled,” Roberts continues. “She’s our first player to reach 1,000 kills. It’s a really big deal. I think there is only one banner at First Baptist Academy for 1,000 kills. So, when we formalize our banners, her 1,000 kills banner will be up there. She’ll be on the leaderboard, so maybe she’ll inspire a younger player to try to match that or beat that. It’s definitely good competition. We’ll always refer to her as the first. Maybe light a fire under some underclassman to beat that. Without Cam achieving that, we wouldn’t have that to really motivate them.”

Rose said that hitting a kill shot is about the biggest thrill she can imagine.

“There’s just no better feeling than the kill,” Rose said. "Right when I see that I’ve got the kill, I just jump up, throw my hands in the air. There’s just no words to describe how happy that makes me feel. It lights me up. It truly just brings me happiness. I just try to go up for every ball and I just attack it with everything I’ve got. Sometimes I go for power, sometimes I go and play smarter, and go for spots that my coach tells me to, or that I see as open. I just go up in the air and kind of see the court when I’m up in the air and I can tell if I want to swing line with it or cross and just go for it. Hitting the kill itself is thrilling, but so is celebrating with my team right there to amp me up. It’s just such an amazing feeling.”

Rose didn’t start out as an outstanding player. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She says she blossomed at Marco Island Academy.

“When I started out at nine years old, I was really short,” Rose recalls. "I’m five feet-ten, five feet-eleven now, but I was the shortest one in all of my friend groups. I wasn’t very good to start. I sat the bench all the time. I kind of worked my way up and I fell in love with it. I was actually the setter to begin with. It helped me develop as an all-around player - I had to because of my height. I was a setter, then I played mostly back row. Then I started getting taller and I started hitting. And I just loved it. I loved being the one that got to put the ball away and using all my power. It really fueled me - I loved it. I think coming to MIA really helped show me that I really do have something special. They really did help me realize that I really did have something special and that I needed to share it with the team. My teammates are always hyping me up. It was just really special.”

Roberts said Rose’s contributions to MIA - and the Marco Island community - are not limited to the volleyball court. She also realizes that she - and her colleagues - will miss Rose and her group when they graduate.

"She’s been a really active member of our school’s student government,” Roberts said. "She volunteers a ton in the community with Key Club. I believe she’s still working at Beebe’s ice cream shop. So, she’s really well immersed in the community. This will be a graduation where we’ll all be in puddles, crying, sad to see them go. She comes in with Sophia and Summer LaButte, whoever else is with them, almost every morning. Just to come in and chat. I think she knows she can confide in a lot of the adults on this campus. Her little group brightens my day every morning. Today they pranked me with little pink streamers. She’s just a great kid. And she’ll be missed.”

While Rose has decided that competitive volleyball is not in her future, she’s not sure where she will continue her academic career.

"I have not fully decided where I’m going yet,” Rose said. “It will most likely be in the state of Florida. I’m applying to UF, FAU, Lynn and the University of Tampa. I’m applying to a whole bunch. Don’t know where I want to go yet. But I’m looking to major in business administration or marketing. I’m just excited to see where life takes me. I think God has a plan for me."